P age B2 A ugust 28, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver M (Elje 'Jlortlanh © bscruer ENTERTAINMENT Robert Altman reminisces a jazz memory For his 31st film, director Robert Allman revisits his birthplace, K an sas C ity, at the peak o f its vitality in 1934. Located at the crossroads o f A m er ica, K ansas City thrived under the rule o f city bosses and organized crime. G am bling and prostitution were officially illegal, but freely avail able; and a new kind o f ja zz played 'round the clock in the raucous clubs around 18th and Vine. W hile the rest o f the country was mired in the G reat D epression, K an sas City not only prospered, it swung. The action in Kansas C ity occurs over the course o f tw o days in 1934, on the eve of m unicipal elections. The D em ocratic political m achine of boss Tom Pendergast gears up to get out the votes, using violence when necessary. V irtuoso jazz, m usician match m usical wits in all-night "cut ting contests" at the Hey H ey Club A nd scrappy B londic O ’H ara, portrayed by Jennifer Jason Leigh, sim ulating the tough-talking broads o th e r silverscreen idol, Jean Harlow, kidnaps w ealthy C aro ly n S tilton (M irandaRichardson), the laudanum- addicted wife o f an advisor to Presi dent Roosevelt. B londie’s plan is to sw ap Carolyn for her sm all-tim e th ief husband Johnny O ’H aralD erm oi M ulroney), who has been captured by big-tim e gangster, killer and club-ow ner Sel dom Seen <Harry B elafonte). Johnny has affronted Seldom by robbing one o f the k in g p in 's favorite gam bling custom ers; w orse, he has infuriated Seldom by com m itting the crim e in blackface. Johnny is being held in the basem ent o f Seldom ’s Hey Club, w here the m u sic-loving g angster m oves to the jam session going up stairs. W hile Seldom considers ju st how to dispose o f Johnny O ’ Hara, B londie O ’H ara carts her captive, the gen teel, opiated C arolyn Stilton, all over K ansas City. O ne she tracks down Henry Stilton (M ichael M urphy) and gives him the term s o f his w ife’s ransom , Blondie m ust keep Carolyn out o f sight. Inseparable for tw o days, these tw o very different w om en begin to understand one another as they head tow ards an inevitable, transform ing conclusion. Says Leigh o f B londie’s outland ish plan to sw ap the kidnap victims, “She thinks o f it as a trade because she really d o e sn 't live in the real world. H er w hole life has been in form ed by the m ovies. W ith Blondie, everything is a ‘y o u ’re with me, y o u ’re against m e' kind o f thing.” Altman gives his take on B londie’s devotion to Jo h n n y , “H er fascination for him is alm ost a sickness.” K ansas C ity was a great town for music, with plenty o f clubs and a flourishing red light district that paid m usicians well. A ltm an ’s first ex p o sure to jazz cam e when he was a child. “I had a black m aid, G lendora W hen I w as eleven, G lendora sat me dow n in front o f the radio and said, ‘Now, listen to this. T his is the best music there is.’ It w as Duke E llington playing "S o litu d e.” I rem em ber e v ery note o f it.” By the tim e he was fifteen, A ltm an w as frequenting the city ’s ja zz clubs. A ltm an describes the m ilieu, "The jazz clubs w eren ’t segregated, they sold drinks to anyone anytim e. W hite people could go there, but they d id n ’ t very often. M ovie theatres w ere a different story; black people had to sit in the balcony, w hereas w hite people could go anyw here they w ant ed. In K ansas City they often boasted about not being segregated, but M is souri was a Southern state like the others. T he attitude w as patern alis tic, som ething like, ‘H ere, we treat our N egroes real w ell.” Kansas C ity contrasts the em o tions provoked by the film ’s dual kidnappings with the exhilaratingjazz o f the all-night ja m sessions, w hile being surrounded by the beauty, v io lence and joy o f a unique tim e in A m erican history. A cinem atic riff on race, class, pow er and addiction, A ltm an calls Altman. Is it Belafonte's comeback? Photo by Ell Reed Kansas C ity "a jazz m em ory” . “ While the rest of the country was mired in the Great Depression, Kansas City not only prospered, it swung.“ R.E.M. signs monster contract W arner Bros. Records said Sun day it renew ed its lucrative relation ship with influential rock bandR. E.M. by signing a contract reported as be ing the largest in music history. Term s were not disclosed in the label’s statement, but the Los Angeles Times reported it was worth $80 mil lion for five albums and included a$ 10 million signing bonus. The A thens, Ga-based quartet has just delivered the last o f the six albums covered by itsexisting pact with Warner Bros., and over the last tw o weeks had been courted by major labels, includ ing D re a m W o rk s S K G , C a p ito l Records and Sony Music, the paper reported. The deal eclipses pop singer Janet bv ^ L eonard Jackson’s estimated $70 million con tract with Virgin Records, signed in January. “W earegrateful that R.E.M. recog nizes their hom e at W arner Bros. Records, here and around the world, where their work and they are loved and respected," Russ Thyret, chair man and chief executive officer of W arner Bros. Records, said in a state ment. “W e enjoy our relationships with R.E.M at every level and look for ward to building on them in the years to com e," he added. The band told the com pany o f its decision to remain in the fold by send ing a telegram that read: “W e’ve al ways said w e’ll only do this as long as Z2Ï e P R E S Since then, the band — still made up o f the original four members — has sold more than 30 million albums and won four Gram m y awards. A ccording to the Los A ngeles Times, the contract also includes a $20 million royalty advance on future sales o f its W arner catalog. The band is also guaranteed an es timated $10 million advance per al bum and a top-tier 24 percent royalty for each record sold. As is standard practice, the cash advances will be deducted from royalty payments to the band. The deal is important for W arner Bros., the largest record com pany in the U.S., which has been distracted by messy management restructuring over the past few years. M any artists were w orried that the label, w hose ro ster includes E ric Clapton, Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, would lose its reputa tion as a nurturing environment. In order to help fend o ff concerns, the label has written big checks to keep influential acts happy. It reportedly signed Neil Young, who sells a fraction o f the albums that R.E.M. sell, to a $25 million deal that included a $5 million signing bonus. An industry source told Reuters the contract was fairly priced. “Based on the kind o f money that R.E.M. gener ates, W arner will certainly make their m oney back,” he said. But Thomas W hite, an artist rights Audience poll hit & miss K lady In the m ovie business, th e H oly G rail is objective data. Studios an d p ro d u c tio n co m p a n ie s c a n ’t get enough o f it. Film s are su bjected to a d rill o f research screenings an d trackin g stu dies in an effort to m ea su re au dien ce aw areness, interest a n d preferen ce. And m ore than any other detail, industry chiefs w ant to know the percentage o f respondents that select f|O it’s still fun, and right now it feels like w e’re just getting started, so let's keep going.” R.E.M. originally signed to W arner Bros, in 1988 after building a strong following with several releases on the now defunct IRS Records label. Their next album, “New Adven tures in Hi-Fi" is due out September 10. Their most recent album, “Mon ster”, was released in 1994 and sup ported by a world tour. R.E.M. was formed in the small college town of Athens, Ga„ about 70 miles east o f Atlanta, in 1980 by gui tarist Peter Buck, now 39, singer M ichael Stipe, 36, and bassist Mike Mills and drum m er Bill Berry, both 37. A rtatris k a picture as their first choice for each weekend. But a straw poll o f m arket ing executives and researchers indi cates w idespread frustration that, despite a form idable database, the ability to predict a film ’s appeal isn ’t improving. One recurring com plaint is a lack o f consistency: "Jack” opened on Aug. 9 to considerably less business than tracking had predicted. C o n E N T » versely, “S trip tease” opening last month drew much larger audiences than research had anticipated. Film aw areness studies, which are conducted by independent market research com panies, generally ask a random sam pling o f A m ericans a series o f specific questions: “What films are you aw are o f currently in theaters or about to be released?” "Based on everything you know about t h e ROSE CARDEN CONCERTS w hether a p ictu re’s going to survive its first w eekend. It can affect w here you advertise and w hen you ad v er tise. But you give you a pretty good idea w hether a p ic tu re’s going to survive its first w eekend. It can affect w here you advertise and w hen you advertise. But you should alw ays re m em ber that it’s a guide, not a rule — and definitely not a fo o lp io o f sy s tem .” Mysterious women on the scene at the crimes I’ l l MIHI III PRODUCED BV SHOWMANINC ANO MONQUI PRESENTS hooker ; AND THE COAST TO COAST BLUES BAND g $ 2 5 film X, would you say you are defi nitely interested or definitely not in terested in seeing it?” "W hat is your first choice am ong film s playing this w eekend?” “First choice is increasingly im portant because o f the volum e o f film s in the m arketplace,” says New Line president o f m arketing and d is tribution M itch G oldm an. “ It can give you a pretty good idea A O V HOI I I V IN I \< .1 PI A /A TICKETS AT HCKETMaSTER OUTLETS 224 4400 SUBJECT TO USUAL SERVICE FEE NO OUTSIOE FOOD OR DRINKS’ OOGS tAWNCHAIRS ETC A l t SHOWS G A FESTIVAL SEATING SHOWS AT 6 GATES AT 5 PM PLENTY OF GREAT FOOD & BEVERAGES AVAILABLE ON SITE RIDE TRI MET TO THE PARK RIDE Htlf.TE FREE VISIT THE INFO BOOTH ANO LEARN ABOUT TIP TRAUMA INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CONCERTS BENEFIT PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION Carol O'Connell’s Killing Critics (Putnam) begins with a discreet murder, but quickly connects with a much more brutal crime. As NYPD sergeant Kathleen Mallory probes into the murder she discovers that the ghosts of the past will not be still. And the formidable Kat Colorado, “the quintessential female P.I.” (Booklist), comes to the aid of a childhood friend in Karen Kijewski's latest thriller, Honky Tonk Kat (Putnam), set against the backdrop of Nashville’s country music scene. In the age of talk-show mania, and crazed paparazzi, it’s hardly unusual to hear of a celebrity being harassed by an overzeal- ous fen. But when superstar country entertainer Dakota Jones begins receiving threatening letters, then finds dead roses on her bed, she fears it’s not the work or your run-of- the-mill kook. At Dakota's urging, Kat joins her friends tour to investigate the case. G a lle r i 8 c e le b r a te s th e A .C .L .U .’s U ncensored M o n th with an U ncensored W all o f art rejected by galleries due to its c o n tent, to g eth er with an audience re sponse area. A lso, Portland artist D iane W astson show s new w orks called "P riv ate Selves" and C a n a dian artist Robert M eister show s his new collection. S u m m e r G a lle ri h o u rs a re T hursdays & Fridays 2 pm -6pm S aturdays 12-4pm. For questions and review s call 224-7876. expert, said he thought the contract price was inflated. “These kinds o f deals are hazardous to labels. It . makes no real economic sense, ex cept to m aintain appearances and keep the nam e connected to the band," he said. Seniors, get set for expo S eniors and their fam ilies can sw ing to the hits o f a bygone era S a tu rd a y , S e p te m b e r 7 as the D orsey B rothers O rchestra takes the stage at the K eyB ank O reg o n S en io r E xpo. T he event will be held at the O regon C onvention C enter in P o rt land. T he D orsey Brothers, p erfo rm ing on the m ain stage at 11 a m. and 2 p.m ., are possibly the m ost notable nam e from the Big B and era. T he 12-piece orchestra plays the m usic m ade fam ous by T om m y and Jim m y D orsey, w ho had hits both to g eth er and w hile on their ow n from 1938. In addition to the exhibits and entertainm ent, seniors m ay take in up the nine different sem inars b e ing held throughout the day in clu d in g topics on com puters, fi nance, health and more. H ighlights include “Fall G a r d ening T ip with Ed H um e,” “E s sential G ra n d p aren tin g ” by Dr. L illian C a r s o n author o f the book by the sam e nam e, “The A B C ’s o f P C ’s , ’“D o n ’t G et H am m ered by a C ontractor", presented by the C o n tractors B oard and “W hy T ak e a B us W hen Y ou Can T ake the S u p erco ach ,” presented by A m e r ica T ours. POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS 1005 W Burnside, downtown Portland • 503-228*4651 POWELL’S BOOKS AT CASCADE PLAZA 8775 SW Cascade Avenue, Beaverton • $03-643-313 1 •> >